


April Showers Bring...

by Bittersweet_in_Boston



Series: The Four Seasons [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A delightful way to wake up, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Brooklyn, Central Park, Doing the work, Go Huskies, M/M, Morning Sex, Oral Sex, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The old neighborhood, Tony Stark is not a pet person, actual dogs, hot dogs, idiots in spring, morning breath, pizza or chicken piccata - yes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:20:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24233482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittersweet_in_Boston/pseuds/Bittersweet_in_Boston
Summary: The guys run down the block and Steve veers into an alleyway behind St. Matthew’s church. As Bucky turns the corner, he drops his hot dog out of the bun.“Leave it!” shouts Steve, turning to look at his partner as he heads for a covered back entrance to the church.“Never!” Bucky yells back, and stops to gather his hot dog back into the bun. OK, so he gets a little wetter, but it’s worth it. Five second rule. In a few seconds he’s joined Steve under the awning and they huddle together, peering up at the sky.“Wonder how long it’s gonna last,” says Steve, leaning companionably against Bucky’s shoulder.He doesn’t have long to wait. In another classic tradition of spring in the Northeast, the rain lightens up after ten or fifteen minutes and blue sky appears to the west.“Ice cream?” Steve says, turning to Bucky. Bucky’s about to agree when he puts up his finger and cocks his head, listening. After a few seconds Steve can hear it too, a soft whining sound almost covered up by the rustle of paper.About ten feet from the church doorway is a piece of newspaper blown up against the wall, which is...whimpering? They walk over and cautiously lift up the paper.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: The Four Seasons [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559860
Comments: 5
Kudos: 58





	April Showers Bring...

**Author's Note:**

> CW: mild reference to something gross and a lot of cuteness

“Mmm. Mmm. Mmmmmmm...hmmm?”

Steve drifts into wakefulness from a very nice dream to realize two things: (1) he’s humming out loud; and (2) his partner is spooning him, his naked hard-on pressed against Steve’s ass while he kisses down Steve’s neck to his shoulder.

Well, that explains the humming.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Bucky murmurs against his skin, setting his teeth against Steve’s clavicle. Steve shivers and smiles, and he registers that his dick has already started to take notice.

“G’morning Buck,” he says sleepily. “This is an excellent way to wake up.” He turns his head toward Bucky, continuing the humming as his lips meet his partner’s in a soft kiss. Steve starts to deepen the kiss, opening his mouth to his partner. But then...

“Aaaggghh, bleah,” Bucky says sharply, pulling away and looking for all the world like the Tim Gunn gif. “Your mouth tastes like ass. My mouth tastes like ass. Why is morning breath like ten times worse when you’re a fuckin supersoldier.”

Steve chuckles. “Something in the serum, probably,” he answers. “Or did we just eat too much garlic last night.”

“Fuck,” mutters Bucky, bounding up and running toward the bathroom. “Be right back!” he calls.

Rolling onto his back, Steve chuckles again and shakes his head. He doesn’t give a shit about morning breath - in his admittedly biased view, Bucky tastes amazing no matter what - but his boyfriend has always had a different opinion about this issue.

Bucky returns a minute later, licking his lips and holding a smallish glob of toothpaste on his right pointer finger. He climbs onto the bed and holds it out to Steve.

With a gleam in his eye, Steve leans over and very slowly and deliberately takes Bucky’s entire finger in his mouth and sucks the toothpaste off, never breaking gaze with his boyfriend.

Bucky’s breath hitches and Steve grins a little as he pulls back and sucks on two of Bucky’s fingers. Bucky can feel the warmth and wetness and Steve’s clever, strong tongue lapping around his knuckles. The thought of Steve’s tongue goes straight to his dick and he feels it twitch, swelling upward between his legs.

In an instant Bucky’s pulled his fingers back and fastens his mouth on Steve’s, but this kiss is anything but soft. Bucky licks Steve’s lips and wordlessly demands that he open up for him as he relentlessly pushes further and further into the kiss. He grabs the back of Steve’s neck to hold him in place with his vibranium arm and then pulls, not too gently, on Steve’s short hair.

Steve groans against Bucky’s mouth and sinks backward onto the pillows. Bucky is happy to take control of the situation and drapes himself over Steve’s body, which is pouring out heat, and hold him down by the wrists against the mattress. They kiss for a few more minutes, lazily grinding their hard-ons together. Without warning Bucky releases Steve’s wrists and begins kissing slowly down Steve’s neck, over his collarbone, and down to his pecs. Here he takes Steve’s nipple gently between his teeth and swirls his tongue around the nub, smiling a little as he hears his lover gasp.

But Bucky’s got other places to be and only worries at Steve’s chest briefly before continuing his journey south, trailing wet kisses over Steve’s abs and licking around the rim of his bellybutton. Steve lets out a very small “ohhhh” and spreads his legs wider to allow Bucky to crouch between them and give him access to his fully erect cock.

Bucky holds his head a few inches from Steve’s crotch, enjoying the view and savoring the musky smell rising up toward him. Steve wriggles in impatience.

“Buck...” he moans, trying to press his hips toward Bucky’s mouth. But Bucky passes his vibranium arm over Steve’s pelvic bones to keep him still. He looks up at his lover. Steve’s face is pink and he’s breathing hard, mouth slack and twisted down in frustration. 

“Shhhhh,” whispers Bucky. “I got ya, sweetheart, I got ya.” He blows gently against Steve’s dick and then swoops in and licks a stripe all the way up Steve’s length from root to tip before taking him fully into his mouth.

Steve immediately grabs Bucky’s head to keep him in place, as if Bucky is in danger getting up and going somewhere else. In fact there’s nowhere Bucky would rather be than here, feeling the weight and girth of Steve’s cock filling his mouth, licking around his glans, dipping his tongue delicately into Steve’s slit. He takes Steve’s full shaft as far back into his throat as he can manage, hollowing out his cheeks to suck him down.

“Oh fuck...” Steve swears, head thrown back, mouth open. There’s no more beautiful view in the world, Bucky thinks, than this one, looking up over his partner’s body to see his gorgeous face so open, so trusting, so gone.

Bucky is about to make a last effort to suck Steve off when the latter pulls at his shoulders and gasps out, “Bucky...fuck me...please...”

His mouth pulling off Steve’s dick with a pop, Bucky smiles and skims up Steve’s body to plant a filthy kiss on his partner’s mouth before grabbing the lube off the bedside table. They’d had it out the night before and never bothered to put it in the drawer. Steve pulls his knees up and his breath hitches as he feels the cool viscous liquid against his hole.

Bucky goes back to kissing Steve as he slowly pushes one finger into Steve’s hole up to the knuckle. It’s barely a minute or two before Steve is breathing hard against Bucky’s mouth and insisting on “More...more, Buck” as he arches his hips down against Bucky’s hand. Bucky obliges and soon he’s got three fingers pushing into Steve and stretching him while occasionally brushing against his prostate.

Steve is beside himself, trying to thrust against Bucky’s hand, head back, mouth open in desperation.

“C’mon, Buck,” he rasps out. “Please...need your dick...” Bucky’s cock twitches in response. He pulls his hand out, strokes himself a few times, and lines up at Steve’s rim. Slowly, slowly, he pushes himself into Steve, reveling in the tightness and the stretch as he bottoms out.

“Buckyyyyy...” Steve whines, dick swollen and leaking, feet scrabbling against the sheets in an effort to start some friction.

“You want me to fuck you now, Stevie,” Bucky hisses, licking up Steve’s neck muscles. “You want me to pound into you so hard.” Neither statement is a question.

“Yesss...fuck,” moans Steve, his cock twitching upward toward Bucky’s lower abs. Bucky pulls almost all the way out and then obligingly starts fucking into Steve with smooth, hard strokes, angled just so to roll over his prostate. He feels Steve’s legs wrap around his waist, linking his ankles together at the small of his back.

“How’s this, sweetheart,” Bucky whispers against Steve’s mouth, picking up his rhythm. “You like my cock deep inside you, filling you up...”

“Oh God yes,” Steve gasps out. “Feels so good inside me, Buck. Feels fuckin amazing. Love to take your cock...mmmmm...”

He stops speaking because Bucky has sealed his lips over Steve’s, kissing him senseless as he pounds him into the mattress. Bucky can feel the sweat coming off their bodies, can feel Steve’s heat everywhere as he’s draped over him, but the space around his crotch is a furnace.

“Are you ready to come for me, my love,” Bucky murmurs against Steve’s mouth as he reaches between them to pull at Steve’s dick. He’s reveling in every sensation and could do this forever, but he knows his lover well and knows that Steve is very close. In response Steve merely groans his assent and hitches his legs up higher on Bucky’s back, trying to push him deeper inside.

Bucky angles his hips slightly so his crown brushes harder against Steve’s prostate and moves his hand on Steve’s shaft from top to bottom. He feels a warm sensation rising in the pit of his abdomen and fucks into Steve even faster.

“Come for me now, Stevie.” Bucky’s voice is barely more than a whisper. “Let me see you let go and then I’m gonna fuck all this come into you. I know you love to feel my cum dripping out of your ass.”

“I do,” Steve gasps. “I love it so much, you...oh lord...” Moments later he stiffens and his asshole constricts around Bucky as he comes all over his stomach. Feeling Steve’s walls tighten around him, Bucky’s balls tingle and he shudders and releases into Steve, his vision greying out at the sides and his hands clenching Steve’s shoulders.

When Bucky comes back to full awareness he’s draped over Steve and the heat between them is dissipating, leaving their sweat to evaporate and the jizz that now coats both their bellies to dry, stickily. And yet as Bucky moves to separate from Steve, the latter pulls him close and murmurs, “Just another minute.” So they stay joined, kissing languidly and enjoying the afterglow.

Their reverie is interrupted when Steve’s stomach erupts in a huge growl, and they pull back, look at each other, and start laughing. Bucky carefully extricates himself from Steve, kisses him tenderly, and says, “Come on, love, let’s get a shower and get you fed.” 

*****

“What a gorgeous day!”

Steve is smiling like an idiot as they approach Central Park South. They’ve eaten a huge breakfast at home and have decided to take a monster long walk to make up for the fact that they were fucking during Steve’s usual running time and he’s twitching with adrenaline and stored-up energy.

Bucky rolls his eyes behind his sunglasses at Steve’s enthusiasm but he’s grinning as he does so. It _is_ a beautiful spring day in New York, sunny and warm with a fresh breeze blowing down Fifth Avenue from the park. The streets are packed with people, all eager to get out into the good weather after a week or two of rain and cold.

It’s warm but there’s still a chill in the air so Bucky’s managed to convince Steve to wear not only a long-sleeved t-shirt, but also one that doesn’t look three sizes too small. They’re also wearing baseball hats and aviators in an effort not to get recognized, though it’s tough to hide Steve’s bulk, even in a t-shirt that actually fits him. At least Bucky can wear his camouflage sleeve over his vibranium arm.

The pair hit Central Park at the southeast corner and Steve is still antsy, so Bucky orders him to run up the path and back as Bucky ambles along, enjoying the sunshine. Steve enthusiastically complies, looking exactly like a golden retriever stuck the body of a Greek god. Bucky cackles under his breath all the way up East Drive. It’s all he can do to keep himself from yelling “Fetch!” and throwing a stick.

The park is crowded, as expected on the first spectacular day of spring, but Steve and Bucky manage to find paths near the Sheep Meadow that are less-traveled. Once Steve has at least kind of tired himself out fetching, they decide to climb one of the boulders that dot the park fields and stretch themselves out on the rock, holding hands and sunning themselves like lizards.

The sky is deep spring blue and dotted with puffy cotton ball clouds, the grass and flowers are reveling in the good weather, and everything smells like rich earth. It’s intoxicating.

Bucky is almost asleep when Steve squeezes his hand.

“Hey Buck, you awake?” he murmurs.

“No,” Bucky answers, squeezing back. Steve chuckles.

“Whatsa matter, Buck, you tired or somethin,” he says.

“Well, I’ve had two big workouts already today and it’s only 11 am,” Bucky says, deadpan. “Think I’m allowed a little nap in the sun, buddy.”

Steve chuckles again and brings Bucky’s hand up to his mouth, lips brushing his knuckles.

“You OK?” he says, turning his head toward Bucky. Bucky opens his eyes and looks incredulously at Steve, and Steve realizes he’s about to say something both sarcastic and cheeky about their morning’s activities, so he cuts him off.

“Yes, fuck, I know, we had mind-blowing sex this morning, hooray, that was amazing,” Steve continues, “I mean, but seriously, I just wanted to check in. See how you’re doing. See how we’re doing. You and me.”

Bucky clues in that Steve is trying to be a good partner and wants to have an actual, serious conversation, so he switches from horny sarcasm mode into loving boyfriend mode. He takes a deep breath and turns on his side to look at Steve.

“You and I are good,” Bucky says quietly, rubbing Steve’s belly without actually letting go of his hand. “I’m so happy, being with you, sharing my life with you. Not that we don’t have our ups and downs, but things with you have been great.”

Steve’s smile climbs from his mouth to his forehead and lights up his whole face.

“Absolutely,” he says, stretching luxuriously under Bucky’s touch. “And I haven’t had to tell you to put the dishes in the dishwasher for like a whole week now,” he adds, cheeky.

“Oh, so we’re not being _that_ serious,” Bucky says, rolling his eyes and letting go of Steve’s hand.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, dishes are very serious business, Buck,” Steve says, deadpan. He can be just as much of a little shit as Bucky when he wants to be. “But yeah,” he adds, smiling a little. “Things have been amazing. And your therapy is OK? I never want to pry about that, I know it’s private...”

“Yeah, it’s good,” Bucky says, looking thoughtfully out over the fields of the park. “I mean, it’s not like everything’s perfect, and sometimes I still have the urge to run, but Dr. Ryan has taught me a lot of ways to identify when that happens and talk myself down. And I try to go to you when that doesn’t work, so you know when I’m going through it.”

“I know, Buck, and I’m so glad about that,” Steve says, quietly but fervently. “I’m always happy to be there for you, you know? And you know I love you?”

“Yeah, I do,” Bucky responds. They smile as a knot of little kids runs by, running and yelling, followed by a couple of parents and a very large German shepherd. “And you know I love you and I’m there for you, too, right?” He looks back at Steve, eyes focused and intent.

“Of course I do. Even though I’m still kind of a mess.” Steve colors a little and looks down. His own therapy has also been going well, but he still has nightmares about losing Bucky. The last one was two weeks ago, and it had taken an hour for Bucky to talk him down after he woke up.

“Hey, Steve.” Bucky sits up and grabs Steve by the chin, forcing him to look at him. “You are not a mess. You are dealing with some serious shit and you’re doing great. It’s not gonna get resolved in a couple months. OK?”

Steve looks at him, eyes a bit shiny, and turns into Bucky’s hand, kissing his fingers. “OK,” he replies softly. Then for the second time that day, Steve’s stomach emits a noise like a cement mixer rolling down a gravel road and they both crack up.

“C’mon,” Bucky says, sighing and standing up. “Let’s get you fed.” He looks around to get his bearings. “Where d’you wanna get lunch? We’re not too far from Francesco’s...”

“Yessss,” Steve hisses enthusiastically and bounds to his feet. “I’m dying for pizza, or do I want chicken piccata...”

“Fuckin a, Steve, we all know you’re gonna get both,” Bucky says, grinning, as they walk north toward the lake.

*****

“Damn that was good,” Steve says happily as they walk back toward the park from Francesco’s. The weather is still beautiful but there are more puffy clouds overhead now and it’s a bit chillier when the sun goes behind them.

“The pizza or the chicken piccata?” Bucky asks, jostling Steve’s shoulder as they walk down the street.

“Yeah,” smirks Steve, sliding his eyes across to his partner. Bucky chuckles and wraps his arm around Steve’s neck, kissing his cheek.

“Smartass,” Bucky growls but he’s grinning. They walk down the street for a few minutes in silence. Then Bucky turns to Steve, thoughtful.

“Y’ever think about what’s next for us, Stevie,” he says.

“What’s next?” Steve is taken by surprise. “Uh...not sure what you mean, Buck. Like, where’s our next vacation? Or what’s our next mission? I mean, things have been pretty quiet for the Avengers lately, except for that whole thing in late February...”

“Ugh, yeah,” Bucky breaks in, temporarily diverted. They’d been called to Seattle then to deal with the latest mad scientist and his giant slime creatures, which were easy to destroy, if extremely messy. “Those fucken things. That was disgusting. Took a week to get all the goo out of my arm.” He shivers.

“Nah, I dunno, I was just thinking,” Bucky continues. “Do you ever think about, like, what do we wanna do next? Are we gonna be Avengers forever, or are we gonna retire? Is there something you wanna do as a second career? You were always a good artist...anyway, it’s been on my mind lately and I just wanted to bring it up. Get your thoughts.”

“Uh, wow, Buck,” Steve says. Then he’s quiet for a moment. “Wow. I just...I hadn’t thought about it. Are you not happy with our life together? Or with me?”

“Nah, c’mon, you fucken idiot,” Bucky says, frustrated, and punches Steve on the shoulder. “Weren’t you listening to a fucken thing I was saying before lunch? I’m just wonderin what’s next for us, or if we wanna stay where we are. Fuck, Stevie, I fucken love you.” The volume of his voice raises a few notches and several people skirt around them at a wider distance, concern evident on their faces.

“Sorry, Buck,” Steve says a bit shamefacedly, looking down. “You just took me by surprise bringin up the whole retirement thing. I hadn’t even thought about it. I mean, I’ve gotten pretty used to saving the world.”

“Yeah, and you been savin it for more than 70 years now,” says Bucky, his Brooklyn accent coming on strong as he gets heated. “Is this what we’re gonna do when we’re a hundred and seventy?” He shakes his head.

“Anyway,” Bucky continues, “It’s not something we have to decide today, but I just wanted to bring it up. Introduce the topic. Run it up the flagpole. Whatever.”

“Hmm,” says Steve, looking at his partner and then looking fixedly ahead as they return to the park entrance. “Hmm.” He’s quiet for a few minutes, lost in his own thoughts, and then looks up to see Bucky staring at him, patiently waiting.

“Sorry, Buck,” he says, grabbing Bucky’s hand and squeezing. “That was...just...a big thing to throw out there. I got lost in my own thoughts. You know how I get with this stuff.”

“Yeah,” says Bucky, grinning. “I do.” He brings Steve’s hand up to his chest and squeezes it harder. “Just keep me in the loop, OK?”

“Yeah,” Steve replies, looking sheepishly at the ground. “OK.”

At the entrance to the park, a delicious smell wafts over to them and they both see the hot dog stand just down the way at the same time. Steve turns to Bucky.

“Buck,” he starts hesitantly. “Can we...”

“Yes yes of course we can get fucken hot dogs,” Bucky cuts in. He rolls his eyes but his face is fond looking at Steve.

“And then...”

“And then yes, of course we can go to Big Gay Ice Cream,” Bucky interrupts in the infinitely patient voice of A Man Who’s Been Here Before.

Steve’s face lights up like a six-year-old’s on Christmas morning and they amble over to the hot dog cart. Of course they buy three each.

*****

They turn down 84th Street, holding their last hot dogs and debating which flavor ice cream cone to get, when suddenly the puffy cloud over their heads is looking awfully dark and grey.

“Uhhh...” says Steve, looking up. Bucky looks up too.

“Shit,” he says, as the first raindrops fall. In thirty seconds the sky opens up and in the classic tradition of spring in the Northeast, it’s pouring. The guys run down the block and Steve veers into an alleyway behind St. Matthew’s church. As Bucky turns the corner, he drops his hot dog out of the bun.

“Leave it!” shouts Steve, turning to look at his partner as he heads for a covered back entrance to the church.

“Never!” Bucky yells back, and stops to gather his hot dog back into the bun. OK, so he gets a little wetter, but it’s worth it. Five second rule. In a few seconds he’s joined Steve under the awning and they huddle together, peering up at the sky.

“Wonder how long it’s gonna last,” says Steve, leaning companionably against Bucky’s shoulder.

He doesn’t have long to wait. In another classic tradition of spring in the Northeast, the rain lightens up after ten or fifteen minutes and blue sky appears to the west.

“Ice cream?” Steve says, turning to Bucky. Bucky’s about to agree when he puts up his finger and cocks his head, listening. After a few seconds Steve can hear it too, a soft whining sound almost covered up by the rustle of paper.

About ten feet from the church doorway is a piece of newspaper blown up against the wall, which is...whimpering? They walk over and cautiously lift up the paper.

Underneath is a small, shivering puppy with wet, matted black and brown fur and a white splotch on its forehead. It has one perky ear and one droopy one, and it looks up at Steve and Bucky with beautiful brown eyes, its expressive caramel eyebrows raised.

“Hey pup,” Bucky says in a sweet voice that could melt stone at ten paces. “Are you lost?” He holds his hand out to the dog and then picks it up, looking for a collar or other ID. There is none. The puppy is obviously hungry and immediately becomes interested in Bucky’s hot dog.

“You want this?” Bucky says.

“Guess he does,” chuckles Steve as Bucky’s hot dog vanishes in two bites. He holds up his last hot dog to the dog’s snout and snatches his hand back so his fingers aren’t part of the meal. After this the puppy seems happier and it licks Bucky’s hand and makes a little yip.

Bucky looks at Steve with huge eyes that might as well have hearts in them. Steve smiles and skritches the dog’s head.

“It’s so small. We can’t just leave it here,” says Bucky.

“No we can’t,” Steve answers and pulls out his phone.

“Whatcha doin,” asks Bucky.

“Lookin for the closest vet,” says Steve, punching buttons.

An hour later they’re sitting at Westside Veterinary Center, talking the vet, a fortyish woman with streaked blonde hair and kind eyes. The pup is sitting on the exam table. It’s been cleaned off and examined, and it looks even cuter and fuzzier when it’s dry.

“It’s a male, about nine or ten weeks old, no collar or microchip,” the vet tells them.

“What kind of dog?” asks Bucky, running his hand down the dog’s back.

“Ennhh, hard to tell, looks like some border collie, some German shepherd, maybe some hound? Your basic mutt,” the vet chuckles. “He might have been lost, but he was probably abandoned a few days ago. He’s a bit thin, but not starving. What do you want to do?”

Steve and Bucky look at each other and say nothing, but they’re obviously having a conversation with their eyes.

“We have a deal with a nearby shelter,” the vet says, misinterpreting their silence. “We can take him and work with them on getting him a new home. If you want to donate 40 or 50 bucks for his shots, that would be great but if not, we can take care of it. We get donations...”

“No, it’s OK,” Steve interrupts. “If he doesn’t belong to anyone, we’d like to take him. We’ll take care of the shots today and any other care he needs.”

“That’s great!” says the vet.

“Do you know if there’s a pet store nearby?” Bucky asks as the puppy licks his flesh hand. The vet grins.

“There’s a Petco right up the road,” she says.

Later that afternoon, Steve and Bucky return to the Tower. Steve is carrying a smallish crate with all kinds of dog-related stuff in it in one arm, and a thirty-pound bag of puppy food in the other. The dog fell asleep on the cab ride home and is nestled snugly in Bucky’s arms.

They take the elevator to their floor and bump into Natasha on the way down the hall. She’s wearing fuzzy slippers, rainbow polka-dotted leggings, and a huge purple hoodie with “UW” across the front. She stops and takes in their entire situation at a glance. She raises one perfect eyebrow, then in a flash she reaches out and takes the sleeping puppy from Bucky and cradles it close.

“Tony’s gonna flip,” she says. But she’s smiling like crazy.

*****

Tony _does_ flip, proclaiming in one breath that he’s not pet-friendly and in the next that he’s not gonna clean up any poop.

“You don’t have to do that, Tony,” Steve says a bit impatiently. “We’ll take care of all that. We got puppy pads and everything.”

“Yeah, Tony, we got this,” says Bucky, cuddling the puppy to his chest as it licks his chin.

But in the grand tradition of new pet parents, Steve and Bucky don’t always got this. The puppy crate-trains easily and whines when it has to do its business, but sometimes they don’t grab it in time to take it all the way down the elevator and outside Avengers Tower before it has to go. The puppy eats enthusiastically but sometimes it gets sick so they have to clean up dog barf. They invest in a dozen bottles of spray cleaner and keep them in strategic locations around their apartment and the Tower to minimize stains and odors.

After a couple of weeks, they’ve trained the dog enough so it only has to pee once or twice a night. Encouraged by this, and wanting some private recreation time, they put its crate outside their bedroom. But then the puppy whines for hours because it misses them, so they move the crate back. They wait til the puppy’s asleep to have sex, but then they have to be dead quiet so they don’t wake him up. It’s...not ideal.

And on top of this, they can’t decide what to name the pup. Steve and Bucky go back and forth on names, but nothing seems right. The rest of the team chime in with their own suggestions one night in the common room.

“What about Dima,” says Nat, sitting with her back against the couch and playing with the dog as it attempts to lick her face. “Or Malchik.”

“You gonna name your son ‘Boy,’ Natalya,” Bucky says, rolling his eyes. He was on puppy duty last night and is sprawled on the couch, exhausted, his head on Steve’s lap.

“I like Lucky,” says Clint, crouching on the floor next to Nat and skritching the dog’s ears.

“You already have a Lucky,” argues Steve, gently carding his fingers through Bucky’s hair.

“How ‘bout Dum-E,” says Tony loudly, striding into the room. “Or Shitcan.” He starts rummaging in the fridge.

“They’re not naming their sweet dog after your robots, Tony,” Pepper reprimands, following close behind Tony. She’s immaculately dressed after a day at the office but still comes over with a smile to pet the dog.

The puppy reacts positively to all these suggestions, but it’s more likely that it’s just excited to have all these people to play with. Steve sighs.

“We’ll figure it out,” he says, grabbing Bucky’s hand.

“Can you figure out how to get it not to shit everywhere,” Tony says through a mouthful of doughnut.

He rolls his eyes as the crew protests... “c’mon, Tony...” “give him a break, Tony, he’s a puppy...”

“I’m just saying,” says Tony, stuffing the rest of the doughnut in his mouth. “If I did that you’d be kicking me outta here.”

“Tony,” Pepper says sharply. “If you don’t zip it I will be kicking you out. Of our bedroom. Literally.”

Tony’s face looks stricken and he shuts up.

But he doesn’t shut up a few days later, when Darcy is playing with the puppy and leaves him in a lab by himself for a few minutes, only to come back with Tony and find a critical hard drive chewed into oblivion, a scratched-up Eames chair, and shredded papers everywhere.

As Stark stomps around the lab cussing up a storm, Darcy is in tears and Bucky holds the puppy, stone-faced, eyes wintry. He says nothing in reaction to Tony’s tantrum, but leans over to kiss Darcy on the cheek and stalks out of the room.

When Bucky returns to their apartment and puts the puppy on the floor, he finds Steve there, looking serious.

“I heard what happened upstairs,” Steve says softly, leaning down to skritch the dog’s ears. There’s a knock on their door and the puppy barks in excitement and skitters into the foyer.

It’s Clint and Nat, their expressions mirroring Steve’s.

“Tony’s still on the rampage upstairs, so it’s probably good to stay here for now,” Nat says cautiously as they come in, looking at the stormy expression on Bucky’s face and the increasingly stubborn expression on Steve’s.

Clint looks back and forth between Steve and Bucky and hesitates. Then he rubs his head and stammers out, “If you want...I could take the puppy to the farm in Iowa...”

He stops for a minute and looks at the ground. “Laura and the kids would love him... and you could visit whenever you wanted...and then you wouldn’t have to worry when we go on missions...it’s just a thought...”

Steve is frowning through this and Bucky looks mutinous. Then they both realize that Clint’s doing a kind thing and recover themselves.

“Thanks, Clint,” says Steve in a low voice. “We appreciate the offer, you’re really sweet.”

“Yeah, thanks, Clint,” echoes Bucky, but his voice is raspy and his vibranium fingers are flexing,almost a reflexive gesture.

Nat looks sympathetic and her eyes are suspiciously shiny. She is not usually very demonstrative but she pushes up on her toes and hugs both of them. When she pulls back, she looks thoughtful.

“It might be for the best,” she says softly. “Or it might be an excuse to...” She gazes at them and shakes her head.

“Sorry,” she says. “Thinking out loud.” Clint looks at her, and then smiles broadly.

“It’s true,” Clint says to Steve and Bucky. “Pretty fuckin good excuse. Think about it.” He waves awkwardly and they take their leave.

Steve turns to Bucky. “What the fuck,” he says.

Bucky shrugs his shoulders. “No idea,” he says. It’s clear he doesn’t feel like talking about this right now, though, so Steve leaves him alone.

That night at bedtime, though, when the pup is snoozling in his crate, Steve takes a chance and broaches the subject with Bucky.

“It’s not a terrible idea,” he says, cautious and apologetic. “Clint’s, I mean. He’d get to run free...and we could still visit him.”

Bucky sighs and looks at Steve.

“I know it’s a good idea, Steve,” he says shortly. “Can we just leave it alone now, please.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve says quickly, conciliatory. “Let’s get some sleep, we can talk more tomorrow.”

Bucky says nothing but just turns over and closes his eyes. Steve looks him anxiously for a minute or two, then turns out his bedside light and lies on his back, staring at the ceiling. He realizes that his partner is hurting, but he’s trying to tread lightly and not make things worse. His mind is troubled, and it’s a long time until his eyes shutter closed and he drifts off to sleep.

*****

Steve wakes up out of a deep sleep in the middle of the night. He has that second-sense feeling that things have been happening while he’s been passed out.

“Wha—,” he stutters and reaches out for Bucky. There’s no one in the bed next to him. He sits up in alarm and looks around, now fully awake.

Bucky is standing across the room in front of the huge plate glass window that overlooks the city from their bedroom. He’s looking out the window, his back to Steve, and he’s holding the puppy.

Steve quietly creeps over to his lover. He’s aware that he’s treading on thin ice, but the need to be with Bucky and comfort him is too strong. As he draws near, Bucky turns to him. He’s been crying and his eyes are dull and red. The puppy looks worried and is currently primarily concerned with comforting his human by licking the tears off his cheeks.

“I can’t,” Bucky rasps out. “I can’t send him off to Iowa, Steve, I _can’t_.”

Steve melts and reaches out to caress Bucky’s hair. He knows this feeling - he’s been fighting with it all afternoon. Fighting with it the last couple of weeks, really. He feels the same way, and he can’t bear to see Bucky like this, he’d punch Stark in the face to keep him from hurting Bucky, but they’re living in his tower...

A thought hits Steve between the eyes and his face freezes like an actual lightbulb has gone off over his head.

“Holy shit,” he says, low and urgent. “Buck, we don’t have to send him off to Iowa.”

“What?” Bucky answers in confusion. “But Tony’s so mad...and things have been so hard...”

“I know,” Steve cuts him off. “But, Buck, listen...I know what we can do next.”

Bucky shakes his head. “I’m not following.”

“What if...” Steve starts, and hesitates, then plows ahead. “What if we got our own place, Buck. Moved out of the Tower.”

Bucky’s eyebrows go up and he cuddles the sleepy puppy closer. “Go on,” he says.

“We get our own place, with a yard,” Steve goes on. “And we could take the dog out back, and walk him, and take him to the park...”

“Yes...” Bucky’s voice is encouraging.

“And maybe...this is what we need to transition to part-time Avengers,” Steve says thoughtfully. “Let others fight the slime creatures every now and then.”

Bucky cocks his head to the side. “Steve Rogers stepping back from a fight?” he says, his tone mischievous.

“I know, crazy, right?” Steve says wryly. “But, listen, Buck, we could get some hobbies,” he continues, urgent and sincere. “I was...I was...” he drops his chin and looks shyly back at Bucky. “I was looking at the Brooklyn College course catalogue online the other day and they have some cool-looking art classes. And you could do more cooking and baking...gardening if you wanted...”

Bucky’s smile starts small but soon spreads over his entire face.

“Brooklyn College, huh,” he says, grinning. “Sounds like you want to move back to the old neighborhood.”

“It’s pretty nice now, Buck,” Steve says, reaching out to grab his lover by the shoulder. “Some really cute brownstones. I could ask Pepper to look into it in the morning.”

Bucky steps forward so his mouth is only an inch or two from Steve’s.

“That sounds amazing, Stevie,” he murmurs, and leans in to seal their lips together. “Thank you,” he says, breathless, on the other side of the kiss.

Steve smiles a lopsided grin. They look down at the puppy between them, snuggled in Bucky’s arms but leaning his head against Steve’s chest.

“If we’re moving to Brooklyn,” Steve says in a low tone, his breath warm against Bucky’s cheek. “We should name the dog...”

“Dodger,” they say at the same time, then laugh and kiss again.

The puppy, hearing his name out loud, gives a joyful WOOF and cranes his neck upward to lick his dads’ chins.

**Author's Note:**

> Spot the hat tip to a certain short video about a certain actor dropping his hot dog on the ground on cheat day...
> 
> I don’t think St Matthew’s church has an alley or a little covered backdoor, but I made one up for story purposes. World building! It’s fun!
> 
> Why does Natasha have a U-Dub sweatshirt? I feel like she bought it while they were out in Seattle fighting the giant slime creatures because she liked the color. 
> 
> You can’t tell me that Tony Stark is a pet person, I’m not buying it.


End file.
